Interview with customizer Masterenglish

April 5, 2011 | Poe

Masterenglish is the customizer behind my April Fool’s joke this year, a figure of 339/1 in Masters of the Universe Classics style. To find out more about this customizer and his amazing work, I followed up the custom commission with a few questions.

Masterenglish
Real Name: Jon English
Base of Operations: masterenglish.deviantart.com/
History: Born in 1764, I started customizing wooden and tin toys available to me through various outlets, including the local general store and blacksmiths. My very first custom was a branch I pulled off of a tree, it seemed much too ordinary so I embellished the branch with trinkets of silver tinsel and ornaments of various colors, soon to become very popular around winter time in what would become known as America of the States United.

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Odds ‘n Ends > Wondercon/Joecon Edition

April 3, 2011 | Poe

Wondercon 2011 - Mattel - Batman Legacy

  • My friend Popeonabomb was at Wondercon yesterday, and he took some pics for me – primarily of MOTUC and the Golden Age Batman & Joker. You can check ’em out here: http://www.flickr.com/photos/poeghostal/sets/72157626418374964/
  • I’ve been reading the G.I. Joe: Special Missions trade paperbacks from IDW. The concept, as described, really appealed to me–Joes performing “realistic” military missions. I’m enjoying the heck out of them, and between that and the incredible awesome reveals at JoeCon this weekend, I’m now actively resisting getting into G.I. Joe collecting. Which is kind of amazing, because G.I. Joe has been around forever and I never had the slightest interest in it (I was a He-Man/Transformers/TMNT kid). But Hasbro seems to be going balls-out with stuff like this and especially this. We’ll see whether I can hold out.
  • Some news bits from Wondercon: according to Scott Neitlich, Leech will have no other head, his jaw is not articulated, and Hordak’s armor will be vac-metallized (i.e., chrome).
  • As you know, I’ve often discussed expanding the scope of this website to encompass more geek-related, but not necessarily toy-related, topics. I just as frequently have shot the idea down, deciding that keeping a laserlike focus on toys is the best way to keep the site popular. However, I’ve found I do need some sort of outlet for my non-toy geekishness, and to that end I’ve decided to create a spinoff website that will allow me to write about non-toy stuff. All I need is a title…Poe Ghostal’s…Pop…something? I don’t know. As such, I’m holding a contest! Post your suggestions below. If I decide I like any of them enough to use as the site’s title, that person will win a special Sword of Ages variant–purple hilt, black blade! Enter as many times as you want.

The Real Story Behind 339/1

April 2, 2011 | Poe

Obviously, yesterday’s 339/1 figure was a custom. It was created by customizer masterenglish as a commission for me. You can see a gallery of masterenglish’s amazing customs on his DeviantArt page. One of my favorites is “Swamp Chomp,” who would have fit right in to the vintage line.

The above art, by the way, was created by our own MechaShiva. I asked him to create one of those one-panel comics that appeared on the back of the vintage MOTU cards. He tossed in a couple other well-known MOTU knock-offs for good measure. (He also emailed this thing to me the same day I asked for it, using powers mere mortals like me can’t understand.)

Some other tidbits:

  • 339/1’s head is made from the mustache-less Man-At-Arms head. I was surprised no one noticed that. I guess everyone tossed that head in the accessories box like I did.
  • The packaging image was Photoshopped, but not the way you’d think. Masterenglish created an actual insert that said “339/1 – Wrestling Champion,” but when I tried to get 339/1 into the packaging (ME had left the bottom slit open), it wasn’t really working and I was worried I’d scuff the paint. So I took a photo of the empty package, a photo of 339/1 and then used Photoshop to make it look like he was in the package. I thought it worked pretty well–did anyone notice?

 

New MOTUC Reveals at WonderCon > Leech & Hurricane Hordak

April 1, 2011 | Poe

Posted by Mattycollector on their Facebook page.

I’m psyched for Leech; he was one of my favorite Horde members, and the toothy head looks fantastic.

But…Hurricane Hordak? Really? I can safely say I would have taken any He-Man or Skeletor variant before this figure…OK, maybe not Spin Blade He-Man. (Although even that would have had a certain eccentric charm.)

Ask Mattel > Answers for April 1

April 1, 2011 | Poe

1.)  I bought that He-Man with the furry cape. Great figure, but the bio says he lost to John Cena in Wrestlemania 22. But John Cena isn’t even an Evil Warrior! Are you going to correct this error?

No, John took the cape fair and square, but we hear Tri-Klops has been sent after him to collect a bounty.

2.) Battle Catman asks: What would happen to Charlie Sheen if he drank Giant Green Tiger Blood? (more…)

MOTUC Bio Discussion #40 > Shadow Beast

March 28, 2011 | Poe

Inspired by He-Man.org’s Roast Gooble Dinner podcast, welcome to PGPoA’s latest MOTUC Bio Discussion!

Shadow Beast Bio

Real Name: Varies

Great ape-like beasts who live in tribes throughout the dark hemisphere, Shadow Beasts can only come out in the absence of light. Originally created by Count Marzo as a weapon to use against his enemies, the beasts were driven back by Princes Keldor and Randor and forced to reside in the shadows of Mount Barathrum. There they developed a long standing hatred of both the Human and Gar race. Easily manipulated, the ever growing colony of Beasts was later controlled by Beast Man in the service of Skeletor to take down Eternos Palace. With their great strength and stealth-like appearance, Shadow Beasts are more than a match for most heroic warriors!

Portrait Art Source: Cartoon model sheet

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Review > Shadow Beast (Masters of the Universe Classics)

March 25, 2011 | Poe

The 1980s He-Man cartoon, produced by a company called Filmation, had no shortage of monsters throughout its run–many monsters of various sizes and shapes. But as much as there could be said to have been a signature monster in Filmation’s Eternia, it would be the Shadow Beast.

First appearing in “Teela’s Quest,” an episode penned by Paul Dini and easily one of the series’ best, the Shadow Beasts would later show up in three more episodes: “A Beastly Sideshow,” “Prince Adam No More” (also a famous Dini episode) and “The Rarest Gift of All.” Their distinctiveness would even get them their own episode of the 2003 Mike Young Productions (MYP) He-Man cartoon, “Night of the Shadow Beasts” (written by Michael Reaves, who, like Dini, worked on the original He-Man cartoon as well as Batman: The Animated Series). (more…)